far_veronafandomcom-20200215-history
The Mem'shalah of Echo
A three-part system of government. The Mem’shalah (lit. government) of Echo holds three bases of power: the Magisters, the Rav-Magi, and the Morah d’Asra. The Mem’shalah was put in place as a noble compromise after the Scream created a crisis of faith and put the Morah d’Asra’s ability to rule in doubt. The Mem’shalah system is organized behind the theory that society should be governed by the wisest and most knowledgeable. Empress Aquila Alejandra Ari, impressed by the Echonian hero, Magister Shoshana Sévérine Oquendo, secured the legal structure of the Mem’shalah by issuing an Imperial Writ of Assent. In return, the Unifier Empress demanded far-reaching control over the written, athletic, and cultural exam that forms the basis of the entire Mem’shalah system. Today, this control has been inherited by PRISM, the descendants of Her Majesty’s secret police. Magisters (Wise Ones) A small oligarchy of persons, usually nobles, of extreme wisdom and skill selected to govern Echo. They are identified by a sacred exam in late middle age and are given charge of aspects of Echo’s governance based on their areas of deep understanding. Magisters hold lifetime office. * Historically, dissenters used subterfuge in order to be admitted into the sacred test. This caused a planetary crisis 340 years ago when Shoshana Sévérine Oquendo became the first non-noble to be revealed as a Magister. The Morah d’Asra resolved this spiritual crisis by asking their priests to create a new rank in the Hirarekeyah. After two years of intense debate, the priests began anointing these rare individuals as “hafakh” (lit. turn): those who are so close to enlightenment that they will be reborn as nobility in their next lifetime. The exam is now mandatory for all, but hafakh who are identified as Magisters remain as rare as nobles identified as Magisters. Very few can perform so highly on the exam. The Rav-Magi (the Most Wise) The Rav-Magi is the functional head of government, though custom pretends that they are “merely a servant of the Morah d’Asra.” The Rav-Magi is usually either the most senior or the most revered of the Magisters, and they take on the tasks associated with organizing the Magisters’ efforts as a group. In addition to their duties as a senior magister, the Rav-Magi is asked to implement the Emperox’s will on Echo, and to act as the Morah d’Asra’s intermediary when speaking with outside groups. The Morah d’Asra (the Master of the Place) The Morah d’Asra is the spiritual center and theoretical leader of the Mem’shalah. As the head of the ancient noble family that holds authority over Echo, the Morah d’Asra has no functional power, but they are a deep well of ceremonial authority. The eldest of the illuminated family is meant to serve as a model for noble enlightenment, and most Morah d’Asra live in contemplation, meditating with priests and speaking with sages. This exceptional virtue has not been unrecognized by the High Church, and Arhat Nadira the Terraformer, Arhat Lior the Illuminated, and Arhat Ikraam the Wise were canonized after their deaths. Of the various great families, the people of Echo hold only the Emperox in greater reverence. On a practical level, the illuminated family has traditionally made great use of political marriages, using family ties to secure peace, trading partnerships, and territorial expansion. Because of their enduring history of political intermarriage, the Morah d’Asra is difficult to place in any single noble house. For simplicity’s sake, their noble hold over Echo is traditionally traced to the Writ of Assent that recognized the ancient spiritual ties between the Morah d’Asra and their servants, the Magisters. Titles of the Morah 'Asra "She Who Wears a Coronet Of Light, Protector of Merit, Keeper of the Halls of Reverberation, Guardian of the North, Postmaster-Regna to the Imperial Throne, Most Honored Patron of the PRISM Network, Her Grace, the Morah d'Asra Melconia Cassandra." Protector of Merit Another more symbolic title, the Imperial Governor of Echo is the head of the Melconia family and is therefore expected to safeguard Echo’s Interview, ensuring that all tests are proctored fairly and that positions and the resources that accompany them are given out to the most deserving and skilled individuals. In practice, the Morah d'Asra is expected to attend meetings several times a year, can demand a review to ensure fair testing practices, and personally awards high level governmental positions such as Imperial Postmaster-General and Legate Borealis. Keeper of the Halls of Reverberation The Halls of Reverberation are the seat of the Imperial Government on Echo and include several important civic buildings including the Morah d'Asra’s Palace, the Silent Fortress, and the Unending Hymns Cathedral. Imperial Postmaster-Regina Far from being a paper-title, Echo’s control over the Imperial Postal Service, and the Melconias' long-term contract with Constant c, have been a backbone of the PRISM Network’s reach for several centuries now. Immense amounts of overhead and logistical work ensure that postal ships leave each system in the Imperial Belt every six hours, and messages arrive in a day-and-a-half. As part of their duty to provide the Imperial Postal Service, the Melconia family provides access to coveted level four spike drive ship commissions from the dockyards of Maja, and they maintain responsibility over a set of fifteen of Our Majesty's Heralds, four of which await Imperial Commands at all times. Most Honored Patron of the PRISM Network Of all the titles afforded to the Morah d'Asra of Echo, this one is the least unique. Every landowner that collects rents from or invests in the PRISM Network is semi-formally given this title. For the average noble, “Most Honored Patron of the PRISM Network” is a title more like “donor” or “shareholder” than anything substantial. It entitles them to occasional overly-polite company letters, but it doesn’t mean much for most people. But for a Melconia of the ruling family on Echo, it is not empty flattery to be styled as the most honored patron of the PRISM Network: the Melconias are the single largest public investor in the Network, and the source of one of PRISM's largest contracts. Of course, as much as the nobility might sometimes think of PRISM as “the Melconia company,” the Melconia family has never had a member on PRISM’s board and they are not the force directing PRISM’s actions. The Coronet of Light Suspended in a localized gravity well, the diamond prisms of the Coronet shift like tectonic plates, moving under and over their fellows, making and remaking an artist's thin ring projection of Echo's surface. Wondrously detailed as the minute carving may be, its practical purpose refracts in a multi-layered, ever-shifting aurora above their Grace's head, as if Echo and its aurora borealis were itself the Morah d'Asra's crown. Commissioned by Magister Oquendo to commemorate Echo's ratification of the Formal Agreement on Noble Grievance Resolution (FANGR), the Coronet of Light is the most significant element of the crown jewels of the Eriopei system. Just shy of the limits separating a ducal coronet from an Imperial crown, the Coronet of Light is a two-part crown that honors the Melconia family’s blessed ancestors and their authority as the Emperox’s voice in the Eriopei system. Though the floating upper half of the Coronet is the most famous section, and the one that earned the Coronet its name, the piece would come apart without support from the lower and more conventional half. The Circlet of the Call is a white gold circlet set with luminous gemstones symbolic of the noble bloodlines coming together to form the Council of Noble Houses. This simpler circlet is of Triangulum make and hides a tiny, localized gravity well generator, along with a replaceable power cell and the lights that split into the aurora. Symbolically, it represents that Echo is shared between the eleven Noble Houses and shows that the glory represented by the Circlet of Response is is only possible through the peaceful cooperation of the nobility. The Coronet of Light is primarily worn at official or Church functions, and when not in use, it is on display for the noble public in the jewel room at the Hall of Reverberation. The jewel room is under constant guard by a small team of psychics and is perpetually watched by one of PRISM’s most sophisticated surveillance and alarm systems. Of course, the Coronet of Light has far greater symbolic value than the price of its rare metals and precious stones, and it is too distinct to pawn safely. But despite all that, it is occasionally the target of ambitious jewel thieves. Or at least, that’s the rumor. Criminals of that caliber have a habit of disappearing on Echo. Arhats Nadira, Lior, and Ikraam The High Church of Messiah as Emperox currently recognizes three former Morah d’Asra as Arhats. The Morah d’Asra Melconia Shalev, who died during the War Against the Artificial, is also being considered for Ascension. Arhat Nadira Arhat Nadira the Terraformer was known in life as Melconia Galia Nadira, the first Morah d’Asra of Echo. Legends tell of Arhat Nadira‘s long campaign to terraform Echo despite constant disruption from alien forces. She is associated with hope, fortitude, and integrity. By some accounts, Arhat Nadira and Arhat Lior were the same person. In others, Arhat Nadira died setting off the device that purified Echo’s native biosphere, making way for the ecological reflection of humanity’s home. Arhat Lior Arhat Lior the Illuminated is said to have witnessed the destruction of Echo’s deadly native biosphere and the formation of the planet’s permanent Aurora Borealis. In that breath, Arhat Lior experienced a moment of conversion and glimpsed a piece of the Divine plan for Humanity. For the rest of his life, Arhat Lior spoke with ten priests every day, discussing the merits of nobility and the practice of virtue. Arhat Lior is credited with establishing the tradition of contemplation and spiritual study that Echo’s illuminated family is so respected for. By some accounts, Arhat Lior and Arhat Nadira were the same person. In others, Arhat Lior sought greater spiritual practice in reaction to the excesses of Arhat Nadira’s early life at the Imperial Court. Arhat Ikraam Arhat Ikraam the Wise was the Morah d’Asra who survived the chaos of the Scream. They faced crisis after crisis and underwent a long process of learning the proper way of living. Arhat Ikraam is credited with accepting the Magisters as their trusted servants, and acknowledging the wisdom of Rav-Magi Cygnus Lémieux Cécile who offered to handle the tasks of rulership which would have impinged on Arhat Ikraam’s attainment of enlightenment. The He'ara Exam (Illumination Exam) The He’ara exam was designed by the sage, Shahid Mubin Samara, whose noble bloodline was mixed between the Houses of Vela and Triangulum. The exam’s intended use was to test the nobility for signs of wisdom so that power would be distributed by merit only - advantaging and disadvantaging noble Houses only as much as they produced souls of eminent worth. It was not until later in the first civil war that Rav-Magi Maram Zohar Guarneri proposed using the He’ara to identify all civil servants. Over time the many uses of the He’ara expanded into the basis for a caste system built on current enlightenment. Today the He’ara exam is administered by the PRISM Network and is best known as the Interview. The Hirarekeyah (The Hierarchy) Originally an acetic tool built to ration noble luxury and responsibility amid the careful ecological balance of Echo, the Hirarekeyah shel Hamaleakhim (Hierarchy of Lower Angels) spread to commoners as the He’ara spread. Now all residents of Echo are expected to prove their spiritual readiness and fitness to serve. Practical responsibility, status in the community, and access to luxuries are all tied to the seven tiers of the Hirarekeyah. Those in the lowest caste are allotted a monastic existence and encouraged to study, while those in the highest castes attend to affairs of state. Duty and luxury are given only to those with the discipline to manage them. In theory, the most ideal soul is the one who makes the most progress towards enlightenment in a single lifetime. Academic and cultural study is admired and encouraged for everyone. In practice, serfs assigned to unskilled labor are unlikely to advance without money for education, and a noble placed into the lowest caste would strongly consider exile over a few years of intense labor and study, followed by a slow elevation through the Hirarekeyah. The Writ of Assent (Founding Document) The Imperial Writ of Assent given in trust by Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Aquila Alejandra Ari is the oldest surviving document to officially approve Echo’s unusual system of selecting government officials by exam. Plays and movies often celebrate Magister Shoshana Sévérine Oquendo’s two years as an ambassador to the early Imperial Court and portray the later formation of the Conséc as a grand deception orchestrated by the Blood Eagle. But historians with access to Magister Oquendo’s personal writings and detailed accounts of life in Empress Ari’s court paint a more nuanced and deeply practical portrait of the deal which established Echo as the Unifier Empress’ first cultural center. Regardless of Magister Oquendo’s later regret for the worst of the Conséc’s methods, Echo’s Writ of Assent remains one of the most favorable agreements given to local governments during the period of reunification. Social commentators often explain Echo’s pockets of unnerving sympathy for the Blood Eagle by pointing at the Writ of Assent and the heavy investments into Echonian institutions that followed. The Four Chapters of the Writ of Assent: # A marriage contract between the Morah d’Asra Melconia Alheri and General Aquila Ignace Alessio (the commander of the Conséc). # Emergency war powers for General Alessio; Conditions when war powers will be suspended; A spiritual and legal discussion of the Morah d’Asra’s dignity with the conclusion that the Mem’shalah shall remain without changes; the Mem’shalah speaks for the Empress and the Throne. # The design, administration, and review of the He’ara Exam shall be given to social scientists and educators from the Conséc. This duty will pass to their heirs or to those that inherit their mission, should none exist. # There shall be a period of contemplation for theologians to debate the merits of the He’ara as a tool for divination, and for legal scholars to debate the potential benefits or vulnerabilities of the Hirarekeyah. The period of contemplation shall be ended when the Empress or her heirs have heard enough discussion to make a considered decision. Government Summary Head of State: The Morah d’Asra of Echo’s illuminated family. Head of Government: The Rav-Magi Governing Body: The Magisters Powers: Taxation, local policing power, local law, implementation of Imperial law, eminent domain, approval over local land deals and leases, management of the Navale Borealis, protection of the sector’s north, operation of the Imperial Post Office, operation of the Imperial Heralds Source of Legal Authority: The Imperial Writ of Assent given in trust by Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Aquila Alejandra Ari. Issued in 2901. Method of Noble Ownership: Noble families own their own sections of Echo but the Morah d’Asra owns the largest land mass of the group. Method of PRISM Influence: Empress Ari’s advisers showed their genius when they suggested taking control of the He’ara exam instead of interfering more visibly with the Mem'shalah. The plan designed by social scientist, Lt. Major Katrijn Lei Nervetti called for partially weighting the exam towards their Empress’ values. The He'ara already searched for signs of wisdom: if the Conséc's test designers were questioned, they would not need to lie. As far as they were concerned, someone who shared their ruthless loyalty, functional egalitarianism, and utilitarian approach to morality truly did understand government better than others. Over time, small adjustments to the cultural section of the He’ara would pull together a nebula of allies and willing collaborators. Opposing viewpoints would not be eliminated, but soon enough the Conséc would find themselves working with as close to ideal conditions as could be managed, or that was the hope. The Conséc did not survive long enough to see Lt. Major Nervetti's plan enacted, but their heirs in the PRISM Network did. While even a well-informed external observer would see at worst, a concerning network of business contracts and an unusual ideological kinship between the PRISM Network and the Mem’shalah, the reality is that those shared values are not at all accidental. PRISM has been quietly tending Echo's ideological garden for three centuries. Yes, the contracts between the Imperial Post, the Navale Borealis, the Imperial Heralds, and the PRISM Network were hard won and far-reaching. But accusations of corruption are so hard to prove because there is almost none. The Magisters truly did make their own decisions on what was best for Echo - the Magisters chosen to make that decision just happened to be ones who shared PRISM’s values. Of course, PRISM does not rely only on shared values. Each relationship with a Magister or any official with lifetime office is carefully considered. Significant time is dedicated to research into a Magister's previous politics and goals. Whenever possible, PRISM tries to win over officials by working on their personal projects, whether that's restoring a dilapidated neighborhood or funding an initiative against a particular kind of crime. PRISM's liaisons adapt themselves to the cultural and social profiles of the official they'll be working with, adopting a friendly or obsequious persona as appropriate - not a small number of deep cover analysts get their start in this program. When necessary, the network acts as a deniable friend with a very particular set of skills. Or for some officials, access to entertainment and comfort may be the only way. But on the whole, PRISM's strategy is to be a visibly upstanding and extremely helpful member of the community. Method for Distributing Noble House Influence: Magisters are from whichever noble House they belong to (always more than one House so far). The Rav-Magi’s authority comes from the Magisters and the Morah d’Asra, not from their noble House. The Morah d’Asra and the illuminated family are so intertwined with various houses, that their lineage has been fixed by Imperial decree. Method for Managing Imperial House Influence: The Mem’shalah system has been acknowledged and made holy by a previous Emperox. Its legal authority is as sound as any given Noble House’s authority. Fun fact - the Mem'shalah's titles are drawn from Echo's Hebrew influences. Category:The Prism Network Category:Government Category:Echo